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INTERVIEW
COACH O:
Here comes “Big Foot” Keith Crosby ... I played right
tackle, he came in as the tight end.Now look, this guy took a pirogue
to school. His foot was as wide as it was long! I loved this guy.Well,
Big Foot, he’s hooting and hollering, ‘Woooooh! We’re gonna win
the game.’ I said, ‘Big Foot, step down!’‘Woooooh.’ I said, ‘Big Foot,
step down!’ ‘Woooooh, we’re gonna win the game.’ He didn’t step
down. Steve Deery steps over my leg and blocks the extra point.The
ball rolls over the cross bar, and we win the game.
BOBBY:
Two miracle plays.
BOBBY:
When I was in 9th grade, I was 5 foot 8, 115 pounds.Then
all of a sudden I’m like 6 foot 2, 190 in three years. Bé Bé, you were
a man at 15 years old. You were starting on varsity for three years.
You were the only 10th grader who played on varsity.
COACH O:
I played offense and defense. I never got off the field.
BOBBY:
You were recruited by LSU from Day One. Me, I was
just trying to get a scholarship. I was lucky we won State and the
recruiter from Northwestern saw me. So you go to LSU, and it
doesn’t work out, and you end up with me at Northwestern.
COACH O:
I was digging ditches for Latelco (Lafourche Telephone
Company) when you called me. I went because I knew you’d show
me the ropes.
BOBBY:
We lived together in the football dorm. I was a great
roommate. I used to wake you up for class.
COACH O:
Your grandmother would come for these games and
she’d bring us white beans with some bell peppers in it. Big chunks
of bell peppers on some white beans. God, that was good!
BOBBY:
That was my Grandma Birdie,my dad’s mom ...Your dad and
Mangus Arceneaux would come and celebrate and have like a
boucherie
on campus at Northwestern. Everyone wanted to be a part of it.
COACH O:
We brought South Louisiana to Natchitoches. They
loved it.
BOBBY:
Then, senior year, you break your arm.
COACH O:
The next day I became a graduate assistant coach.
BOBBY:
After Northwestern, you went to McNeese State with
Bill Johnson, who’d also been a GA at Northwestern. He was the
defensive line coach at McNeese ...
COACH O:
He was the defensive line coach for the Saints for eight
years, too.
BOBBY:
After you left McNeese, you went to Arkansas.There was
a pause in there, though ...
COACH:
I was actually shoveling shrimp in Grand Isle at Johnny’s
Shrimp Shed and the phone rang. Someone yelled ‘Bé Bé, you got
a call from Arkansas.’ It was Brad Scott, who I was GA with at
Northwestern. He said, ‘Hey man, do you want the assistant strength
coach job here at Arkansas?’ I said, ‘Hold on.’ I had my shrimp boots
on. I had a shovel. Pshhhhh, I threw the shovel in the bayou. I said,
‘Hell yeah, I’m coming, man — just give me the directions!’ I lived in
the dorm. I made $25 every two weeks.The first time I went down to
the cafeteria and saw white gravy, I said, ‘What’s that?’ and someone
said, ‘Oh, that’s gravy.’ And I said, ‘No it’s not, gravy is brown.’ I was
GA for a year. I coached the six technique. I coached Wayne Martin,
who became All-Pro with the Saints.
“When I walk into Tiger Stadium and I see that ‘Welcome to Death Valley,’ I feel connected
to every person in that stadium. One team, one heartbeat. This is home. There’s a bigger
responsibility. I want to represent the people of Louisiana the best way I can.”
—Coach O
[PAGE 8] No. 77 Ed Orgeron, Northwestern State [LEFT] LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron – Photo credit Advocate photographer
Hilary Scheinuk
[RIGHT] Bobby Hebert